Don’t MESS with my Broom

I don’t know what it is about little kids and cleaning tools but Tanner has developed a broom addiction.  So much so, that if he hears the swish swish of it against the kitchen floor, he will cruise over as fast as he can to try and grab it (Usually crawling right through my dust pile on the way).  He plays with it for a while, then gets mad because he wants to move it around with him but the pesky handle is too long and bangs against chairs, cupboards, etc. when he tries to crawl away with it.  He also likes to have you help him walk around with it, using the broom as his walking stick.  What a funny little boy.  Here he is with Daddy, sweeping the floor just like Mommy does (almost).

 

**Notice the bruise on his forehead that developed from his crawling/walking adventures the day before these pictures were taken.  He now has a matching one on the other side where he bonked his noggin again.  It’s a rough and tumble world out there for a baby.**

A Day in the life…

Yesterday, Paul and his buddy Jeff decided to take advantage of some free passes (and the President’s Day Holiday) to go snowboarding at Spirit Mountain.  One of the perks of having your husband’s best friend marry one of your best friends is that you have someone to hang out with when they get these ideas to do something like that.  So while Jeff and Paul hit the slopes, Malinda spent the day visiting with Tanner and me.  She got to witness first hand the SUPER exciting way we pass our days…playing, cooking, getting outside when we can, etc.  I hope it gave her a nice taste of the life of a Northwoods housewife/mother since she will be joining the motherhood soon with a baby coming in August.

Along with being his ADORABLE self, Tanner also showed her the NOT so glamorous side of being a mommy- he got the pukes yesterday afternoon.  Not just a sporadic puke either-the belly clearing, every 1-3 hour pukes.  My poor boy :(  I am glad to say though that after a full afternoon/evening/night of this and a 102.6 temperature, he seems to be on the mend.  He is such a good little boy that even a bug doesn’t stop him from being sweet and funny.  I am really lucky!!

In other news:

My pregnancy is chugging along just fine.  I am 23 weeks and counting.  Deuce is moving around like crazy and I can feel all it’s aerobic exercise going on (when I actually remember to take the time to sit down and enjoy the little life growing in me).

Tanner is 11 months old today which means he will be 1 before I know it!!!  EEK!!  This year FLEW by and was full of changes- good, bad, planned, and unexpected.  I can say that so far this year of being a mommy is the best year of my life.

We are making plans to make some updates  to the cabin on Sturgeon Lake next month so it will be ready for move in by end of March/early April!!! Among the plans are MAJOR organization, some rearranging, as well as painting and decoration Tanner’s big boy room and painting and decorating a room for Paul, Deuce and me. We can’t WAIT to live at the lake for a year and really take advantage of the opportunity. 

Not so meaty….

After my last post I decided to maybe post something not so meaty.  Seriously the pictures of making sausage are a little much (Sorry Nicole).  Not to worry, my next adventure is much more sweet and fabulous :)   Tanner is turning 1 on March 22nd and I have already sent out the invites for his party.  Since we live in the tundra and an hour plus away from my nieces and nephews, we decided to have his party at Maple Grove Community Center where the kids can play in the indoor playground and go swimming in the pool.  It is also closer for Paul’s parents to come too.

Since this is my first opportunity to throw a kids birthday party, I figure I better make some FABULOUS treats.  The theme is barnyard birthday.  I already ordered some cute decorations (including cow print balloons) but have been researching some cute cake/treat ideas.  My aunt told me about a thing that her coworker makes called Cake Pops.  Here is the most step by step directions I could find:

Cake Pop Recipe

Don’t they look fun????

However, being the crafty (or self proclaimed crafty) person I am, I have to amp it up.  Here are the cake pops that I will attempt to make:

I am sure they will look no where NEAR as perfect as this picture but I will attempt it.  In fact I might try the regular cake pops this weekend as a practice run to give my chick cake pops a chance of surviving.

Now to look for a cute cow cake recipe for a smash cake for my favorite soon-to-be 1 year old.

Can you tell I am a tad bit of a perfectionist??  Tanner’s birthday isn’t for another month but here I am planning away.  Pray to the baking gods that it all works out for me!!!

Back at it

After a week or so away from my computer, I realized that I didn’t miss it as much as I though I would.  OK…I wasn’t away from my computer I just didn’t have internet and since I didn’t have internet, what’s the point of having my computer right??  OK, I did play a little solitaire but it’s not like my free time is abundant enough for me to be wasting my day playing computer games…Now if I had an office job, that would be another story… (sorry to take a dig at all you office workers out there, but I have worked in an office setting and KNOW how much time is wasted.  I am not saying it is bad, heck I used to do it)

Anyways, if I haven’t been online then what have I been doing you ask??  Well, let me see….

I had an ultrasound and baby is looking good.  I have to go in for another though in a couple weeks since the little bugger was moving around and they couldn’t get all the heart chamber measurements they wanted.

My brother came up to work on my parent’s house with Paul, so for a few days I was a cooking cleaning machine.  Cleaning up after Tanner, Paul and Nolan is not a job for the weak.

This past weekend my family did our annual deer sausage making/stuffing/smoking at my sister’s house in Oak Grove.  It is something that my family has been doing since I was little.  It was just like old times this year especially since it was hosted at my sister’s house (which is the same house my Grandma and Grandpa lived in for YEARS) 

Tanner had TONS of fun playing with all his cousins and all the new toys and books to look at.  (my sister is starting an at home daycare so has plenty for kids of all ages to play with)  Plus she has a cat, I think that Tanner spent a good half hour chasing the cat around the house making “meow-ing” noises.

Here are some pictures of our family sausage making weekend.

Grandpa, Paul, Nolan and Brandyn and the table o meat

 

Adding the “secret” spices

 

The not so “secret” ingredient…Beer.  Usually it’s Blatz light but this year it is Miller I guess.

Jada “helping”

 

Notice my husband’s SWEET outfit…Ladies- He’s taken so back off!!

 

McKenna (Sadie’s friend’s daughter) helping

Tanner had to help too.  (This year’s other special ingredient..a TAD bit of Tanner drool)

Tanner, Saniya, and McKenna

Tanner and Addyson

Playing with Sadie’s cool toys

 

“Ha ha..I’m so cool”

 

Tanner and his cousins Alex and Gabby 

 

Tanner loves Gabby

Slow Cooker Fruit Crumble

I got this recipe out of my Family Circle magazine and just had to try it.  It is DELICIOUS!!!!!  Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  mushy and Tanner friendly too.

3 Pears peeled, cored and sliced

2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup frozen cherries

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 c sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping

1 c flour

1/2 c quick cooking oats

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c butter

1) Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Place pears, apples, cherries, and cranberries in slow cooker and mix together with sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and cinnamon until well blended.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.

2) Topping: Meanwhile, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fingers and mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbles.  (I used my fingers and it worked great)  Spread topping evenly over fruit in the cooker.

3) Replace cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or more until fruit is tender.  Let cool for 10 min before serving.  Serve with Ice cram and ENJOY!!! NOTE:  I set my crockpot on LOW and cooked for 6 hours so this recipe CAN be done while you are at work or out running errands for the day.

20 Weeks- Half way there!!

Since this is my second pregnancy and I am fully occupied (obsessed) with Tanner most days, I find that I am not documenting as much as I did with my first.  But I am already to 20 weeks!!!  Yay for that!  And EEEEK to that!!   I can’t believe how soon I will be the mother of Tanner AND a new little baby.  I am equally excited for this one but just find it harder to sit back, relax and enjoy the pregnancy as much as I did with Tanner.  I am really going to make a point to document and pay as much care, and attention to this pregnancy as I possibly can.  I have an ultrasound on Friday which we will NOT be finding out the sex of the baby.  As much as I have the urge to find out if I should be buying pink or washing and hanging up the all the blue I had for Tanner, I will again be hanging up all the yellow and green.  It’s ok though because I have been garage sale-ing and thrift store shopping enough to have a decent supply of newborn girl clothes (just in case).  I don’t have any inclinations and my dreams aren’t much help either.  Two days ago I had a dream that I had another little boy but than last night I was breast-feeding a little girl.  Guess we’ll have to wait until June.

Here are pictures of me today @ 20 weeks:

Oh little “Deuce”..I am getting so excited to meet you!!!